201.04: SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS: — Porterville Zoning Code

A. Residential Single-Family Development. Residential single-family structures shall be developed in accordance with the following standards.

1. Garage Frontage and Location:

a. Where garage doors face a street, garage width shall not exceed fifty (50) percent of the width of the front facade of the building for a two car garage home, or seventy (70) percent for a three car garage. Maximum of three (3) garage doors may face a street.

b. Where garage doors face the interior of the lot (i.e. a side loading garage) the face of the door shall be setback at least twenty-five (25) feet from the side lot line. The front setback for such a garage is no less than fifteen (15) feet.

c. Garages with three (3) or more doors, at least one (1) garage front must be separated from the remaining garage fronts by at least two (2) feet.

FIGURE 201.04A1: GARAGE FRONTAGE AND LOCATION

Architectural Articulation. On all facades that face a street, at least two architectural articulations are required, such as window trim, window recesses, shutters, window boxes, bay windows, cornices, changes in material (i.e. stone veneer), larger than normal porch, decorative garage windows, or two other projections or recesses in a pattern that creates architectural interest across the length of the face as determined by the Zoning Administrator.
Width. All residential structures shall have a minimum width of twenty (20) feet.
Two-story Dwellings. Two-story dwellings shall include windows on the facade facing the street. No second-story street-facing wall shall run in a continuous plane of more than twenty (20) feet without a window or a projection, offset, or recess of the building wall at least one (1) foot in depth.

B. Residential Multi-Family Development. Each multiple family residential project with two (2) or more dwelling units on a single lot shall be developed in accordance with the following standards.

Parking and Garage Frontage Limitation. The total frontage of parking areas visible from the street (excluding alleys), including open parking, carports, and garages, but excluding underground parking and parking located behind buildings, shall not exceed thirty (30) percent of the lot frontage. The Zoning Administrator may approve a modification to this standard where existing development patterns or topographic features make it infeasible to limit parking and garage frontage to thirty

(30) percent of lot frontage. Parking areas not visible from the street are not subject to this limitation.

FIGURE 201.04B1: PARKING AND GARAGE FRONTAGE LIMITATIONS

2. Building Entrances:

a. Orientation. Developments shall relate directly to the adjacent street, and present a pedestrian scaled entry with a residential character.

b. Projection or Recess. Building entrances must have a roofed projection (such as a porch) or recess with a minimum depth of at least five (5) feet and minimum area of fifty (50) square feet. Alternative designs that create an enhanced entry feature facing the street, such as a trellis or landscaped courtyard entry, may be approved.

Architectural Articulation. All multiple-family residential buildings shall include adequate design features to create visual variety and avoid a large-scale and bulky appearance. Building facades shall be articulated to give the appearance of a collection of smaller structures. This requirement shall be met by using two (2) or more of the following methods.

a. Facade Articulation. All street-facing facades have at least one (1) horizontal or vertical projection or recess at least four (4) feet in depth, or two (2) projections or recesses at least two and one-half (2.5) feet in depth, for every twenty-five (25) horizontal feet of wall. If located on a building with two (2) or more stories, the articulated elements must be greater than one

(1) story in height, and may be grouped rather than evenly spaced in twenty-five (25) foot modules. Building entrances and front porches and projections into required yards such as stoops, bays, overhangs, fireplaces, and trellises may count towards meeting this requirement.

b. Variable Roof Form. Variable roof forms incorporated into the building design, and no more than two (2) side-byside units may be covered by one (1) unarticulated roof. Articulations may be accomplished by changing roof height, offsets, and direction of slope, and by introducing elements such as dormers, towers, or parapets.

c. Facade Detailing and Materials. All visible building facades incorporate details, such as window trim, window recesses, cornices, changes in materials or other design elements, in an integrated composition. Each side of a building that is

visible from a public right-of-way shall be designed with a complementary level of detailing and quality of materials.

d. Scale. The scale of a multi-family development shall be considered within the context of its surroundings.

e. Use of Balconies, Bay Windows, and Other Such Projections or Recesses. The building incorporates balconies, bay windows, entry porches or other projections and recesses in a pattern that creates architectural interest across the length of the facade.

FIGURE 201.04B3: ARCHITECTURAL ARTICULATION

Open Space. Private and common areas shall be provided in accordance with this section. Private areas typically consist of balconies, decks, patios, and fenced yards. Common areas typically consist of landscaped areas, patios, swimming pools, barbeque areas, playgrounds, trees, bushes, groundcover, and turf. All areas not improved with buildings, parking, vehicular accessways, trash enclosures, and similar items shall be developed as common areas with the types of attributes described above.

a. Minimum Dimensions. Open space shall have the following minimum dimensions in order to count towards open space requirements:

(1) Open space located on the ground level (e.g., yards, decks, patios): ten (10) feet.
(2) Open space located above ground level (e.g., balconies): five (5) feet.

b. Usability. A surface shall be provided that allows convenient use for outdoor living and/or recreation. Such surface shall be a combination of lawn, garden, flagstone, wood planking, concrete, or other serviceable, dust-free surfacing. Slope shall not exceed ten (10) percent.

c. Accessibility.
(1) Private Open Space. The space shall be accessible to only one (1) residential unit by a doorway to a habitable room or hallway.

(2) Common Open Space. The space shall be accessible to all the residential units on the lot. It shall be served by any stairway or other accessway qualifying as an egress facility from a habitable room.

Walkways. Walkways shall link the residential units to the public right-of-way and with recreational and other internal facilities as well as with other residential units.
Storage Areas. Each unit shall have a minimum of eighty (80) cubic feet of individual, locked storage space, accessible from outside the unit. Such area may be accessible from the private open space area for the unit, near required parking, or adjacent to or within other common areas of the development.

C. Reduced Minimum Lot Size, Width, and Depth. Smaller lots with a minimum area of three thousand (3,000) square feet, a minimum lot width of thirty-five (35) feet, and a minimum lot depth of sixty (60) feet may be approved with a Conditional Use Permit when the City Council finds that the lot size and configuration are consistent with the General Plan and will not adversely affect adjoining uses. All such projects are subject to the following standards:

Development Design Elements. The following required elements and the specified number of optional elements shall be provided in addition to the open space requirements listed below.

a. Required Elements. All of the following elements shall be provided.

(1) Street Trees. Fifteen gallon shade trees shall be planted at least thirty (30) feet on center along all sidewalks. Tree guards shall be provided.

(2) Variety of Lot Widths. A variety of lot widths shall be provided to accommodate a variety of home styles, setbacks, and garage placements. At least thirty (30 percent of the lots shall vary from the “typical” (mode) lot width in the development by at least twenty (20) percent.

b. Optional Elements. At least two (2) of the following elements shall be provided.

(1) Traffic Calming. The development shall include streetscape improvements, such as roundabouts, neck downs,

curb bulbs, or similar traffic-calming techniques. Provisions shall be included for the private maintenance of such facilities by a homeowners association or other body or a local assessment district established by the developer.

(2) Parkland and Open Space. The development shall include privately maintained park or common open space at least thirty (30) percent greater in area than the minimum required. (See subsection three (3) below for required open space

area.)

(3) Variable Front Yards. No more than fifty (50) percent of homes shall be set back the same distance from the front lot line unless at least half of them have front porches, and at least twenty-five (25) percent of the homes shall be set back at least five (5) feet farther than the minimum. This component may be implemented by recording “build-to” lines on the final subdivision map.

(4) Alley-Accessed Parking. Parking for at least seventy-five (75) percent of lots in the development shall be provided in the rear half of the lot and accessed from a rear alley.

(5) Shared or Clustered Driveways. Driveways shall be paired so that there is a single curb-cut providing access to two (2) houses, and the total width for the paired driveway is not more than eighteen (18) feet. Alternatively, driveways may be clustered (but need not share the same curb cut) so that there is at least thirty-six (36) feet of uninterrupted curb between each pair of clustered driveways.

Building Design Elements. At least two (2) of the following elements shall be provided.

a. Variable Garage Entries. The development plan shall include provisions for variable location of garage entries. At least thirty-five (35) percent of the lots shall have garages that are side-loaded, set at least five (5) feet behind the primary facade of the building or set entirely in the rear half of the lot in a detached garage.

b. Porches. All single-family dwellings, attached or detached, shall have a covered front porch with a minimum dimension of four (4) feet and a minimum size of thirty-two (32) square feet.

c. Architectural Diversity. Projects with up to twenty (20) lots shall have a minimum of three (3) unique elevations. Projects of between twenty-one (21) and one hundred (100) lots shall have a minimum of four (4) unique elevations. Projects of one hundred (100) or more lots shall have a minimum of five (5) unique elevations.

Open Space. A minimum total open space area (including, but not limited to private yards, porches, balconies, and patios) of three hundred (300) square feet shall be provided on each lot. Also required are common open-space areas of two hundred (200) square feet per lot that provide usable and accessible open space for the recreation and outdoor enjoyment of the development’s residents and their guests. To qualify as common open space, the area(s) shall be centrally located, have a minimum usable width of twenty-five (25) feet, and be at least fifty (50) percent open to the sky and the common open space is not located on the lot served, but serves multiples lots. The requirement for common open space may be waived subject to the following conditions:

a. The design accommodates five hundred (500) square feet of private open space on each individual lot,
b. the minimum dimension of the private open space is ten (10) feet, and
c. the subdivision is located within 1/4 mile of a park, school, or other available open space.

Required Findings.

a. The lot size and project density are consistent with the General Plan;
b. The lots and associated development would not adversely affect adjoining uses;
c. Additional site and building design elements are in evidence; and

d. The lot size is acceptable considering site topography, public-street access, availability of utilities, existing neighborhood characteristics, including the average density of surrounding development. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)